Glossy & Pop Dots & Scissors-OH MY!!! Basic bag must-haves.

Good morning Blue House Fans and welcome to the weekend.  I know your weekend time is precious and short, so THANK YOU for stopping by to see us. 

Today’s blog is a peek inside our ‘basics bag’.  These are the top 10 things we have to have to scrap.  These 10 items, some paper, some pics and a few embellies and let the magic happen.

1)      Glossy accents - we love this product for many reasons. It’s a great liquid adhesive. The tip of the bottle is small to allow for precision application. Glossy also doubles as an accent to elements on a page to give a “glossy” finish.  Want some?

An adhesive jack of all trades.

 

2)      ATG and refills - Some are turned away from this gem of a tool due to the size. It is much larger than the smaller adhesive runners but takes little time to get used to. It holds a much larger role of tape so you don’t have to refill as frequently. It’s also a good idea to have a stock of refills on hand. Nothing is worse than running out of tape in the middle of a project and realizing you don’t have refills!

 

3)      3D Foam squares – Quickest way to add dimension to a page?  Foam squares!  You can pop up a journal card, the focal photo or flat embellishments…total must have.

See how Miss Tracy popped up the "hippity hoppity" title?

 

 

4)      Glue dots – Perfect for adhering buttons or small embellishments to the page.  In my bag I always have a variety of Glue Dots and I like mine in the dispenser.  Nat prefers the roll…because she is not as cool as me.  Ha.  

 

5)      Good trimmer - there are so many trimmers on the market. It’s all in what YOU prefer. But, a rule of thumb: you get what you pay for. So invest a little Green in this Blue favorite! We prefer one that has a larger surface area with a swing out ruler for larger measuring. And always make sure you have a few blade refills on hand, too.  We use the Fiskars cutter personally.

6)      Xyron “X” adhesive – Gluing down intricate pieces, titles and such?  MUST have the X.  Run it through and every little nook and cranny is covered in adhesive.  Love it. 

7)      Journal pen - start documenting on your layouts Blue Fans!!!! We all say “I hate my handwriting”. Who cares!!!! Put pen to paper and TELL STORIES!!! We prefer a finer tip journal pen as it can double for doodling on paper, too to add those whimsy touches!

8)      Scissors – I always have at least 2 pairs in my bag.  Tonic red handled scissors and Cutter Bee Honey Bee. 

 

9)      Quick Quotes powder puff chalk inks - Always available for purchase at LBH and online. These are offered in every color under the rainbow and can add so much to a page. You can use these to distress the edges of paper. If you are starting out and want a few to start with, we recommend some neutral colors: midnight confession, mocha mama and coal miner. If colors are your thing, Cat loves pink cheeks and Tahiti. Nat loves blue moon and mango mai tai.  You can see all the colors and purchase them here.

 

10)   Cork-backed metal ruler – I don’t like clear rulers because I find the measurement lines can be hard to read when you lay the ruler over patterned paper.  The cork back is important so it does not slip around.  My fave ruler had increments down to the 1/16^th and is 18inches long.

You know what I noticed?  Several of the items we mentioned on our list, Miss Tracy also mentioned here in her Q&A session…this totally validates me.  Le sigh.  It’s the little things.

Thanks for all the questions for Miss T yesterday.  Rhonda Clevenger you are our winner.  Please email us at lbhbluecrew@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Ladies, tell us if we missed any ‘must haves’ from our list above.  We will draw a winner from the comments to win something scrappy.  And remember, you can win more once so keep the comments coming, share with all your friends and enter your email to follow us.

I am off to the lake now. 

Stay True Blue,

Cat & Nat